“NOTHING HAS CHANGED. SAME BUDDIES, SAME BRANDS I HAD 27 YEARS AGO. I LIKE CONSTANCY. I’M ALL FOR TRADITION. JEWISH FOOD AND GOOD CLOTHES – THAT’S WHAT I’M INTERESTED IN.”

I would buy up all the less common T-shirts, especially in London. We also got our hands on all the Nike Huarache Stüssy stock, which nobody wanted at the time, 24 pairs in each color. We could see the trend for sneakers growing. We brought in Nike SBs in 2001. We swapped sneakers with Alife and Rivington Club in New York; we’d buy stuff for each other in shopping malls. People knew that you could find rare pieces in our store. Our real competition was actually Colette [an early Paris concept store].

É. They sold lots of fashion brands as

well as lots of streetwear.

M. They tried to cannibalize a culture they had no connection with. They got into streetwear to make a fast buck, without having any feeling for it. We were the exact opposite. When I go into a salesroom, I don’t want to see anything – no presentations about sales or marketing, not what the product focus is for that season, nothing. I only want to buy what I want to buy. If I won’t wear it, I don’t buy it. So people know that when they come into our store nowadays, they’ll find a range of products priced from €35 to €800. If the young Michael of 1996 can’t come in and buy something in our store, there’s no point to it. That’s why we always have a few pairs of discounted sneakers on sale. I’m not interested in selling cargo pants at €300 a pop if I can offer a good alternative for €60.

É. And yet, you’re involved in the specula

tion that arises around some sneakers. M. It’s a phenomenon that bums me out, if I’m honest, because these guys are making money off the back of a culture. We did try to do things differently, to find other ways of organizing the sale of the most sought-after sneakers, but people didn’t like it. No matter how you run it, the whole thing can just turn into a logistical nightmare. The only small thing I try to control is to serve our regulars first, when I can. Some people criticize us for that . But where were they when our store couldn’t shift Dunk Paris sneakers, even at marked-down prices? They sell for €15,000 a pair nowadays. É. You support political causes and even go to the odd demonstration. That’s quite rare in your field.

M. I’m left-wing and not afraid to admit it. I feel like that was very much part of the chaotic vision of the early days. The spirit of graffiti and hip-hop was all about doing things together; that’s always been important to me. We sold a lot of clothes with political messages. I remember a T-shirt by The Hundreds with “Refugees welcome” written on it . It also chimed with the democratic vibe of our store. I tried to help the skater kids who’d turn up with holes in their shoes, kids with no money, guys who wanted to get some work experience. In the same way that others have helped me, here and there, down the years.

É. The atmosphere in your store can be

quite intimidating.

M. I work for myself, so I behave however I like. For better or for worse. [Laughs] If I want to yell or swear or play music at top volume, I will. That’s also what people come for. I recently had a customer in her 30s who was trying on a pair of sneakers. I knelt down in front of her and told her to put her foot on my knee, so I could slip the shoe on. I saw tears spring up in her eyes, and she said, “You did the same thing for me 20 years ago.” She’d come into the store in Enghien to buy sneakers in the 1990s. We both suddenly felt really old. [Laughs] But it says something about loyalty and values. Nothing has changed. I still have the same buddies and the same brands that I had 27 years ago. I like constancy. I’m all for tradition and folklore. Jewish food and clothes – that’s what I’m interested in.

É. How can you not be tired of it after

27 years?

M. You only go out of fashion if you try to be fashionable. I don’t give a damn. My tastes never change.

É. Do you have the soul of a collector? M. That’s my problem. Well, actually, it’s a disease that runs in the family. I have these crazy aunts who hoard wrapping paper. My house is a total mess. I do target shooting, and I have 30 guns. Eight cars. Twenty motorbikes. I have Zoomers in every color. Yesterday, I was in one of my storage units [he shows a picture], and there’s a quad bike in there, an original Austin Mini, a taken-apart Vespa, a piece of my grandmother’s furniture, a bicycle and a Honda Cub C90. I have clothes and sneakers everywhere. I’m a nutjob. I’ll buy cargo pants even though I have dozens of pairs. I’ll buy the same sweatshirt that I’ve already got, but in a different color. I must have 50 pairs of 501s. It’s not expensive stuff, just stuff I like.

É. Why do you still buy clothes?

M. I can’t seem to break the habit. I bought some Westons and Aldens. I just had to have them, even though I don’t think I’ll ever wear them... When I go to the States or England, I leave home with almost nothing and come back with masses of stuff. I still go to secondhand stores and to the flea market every Sunday morning. I’ve got clothes here in my office, in both of my houses, in all my garages. Sometimes I’ll say to the team, “Let’s all stop working, and just sell off all this secondhand stuff.” [Laughs]

É. And yet you still dress the same way

every day?

M. Yup.